Time For A LAN Server

[g4m3rof1337]

Alright, I believe it's time that I buy everything I need to host games at a LAN and have a PC rrouter.

I am wondering what specs the game server and the PC router should have.

Should the PC router use ClarkConnect?



And what's a good 24 port Gigabit switch, under $300.



Thanks.

 

[Vipernitrox]

lol this is probably your third post about this

i don't know what clarkconnect is but i can tell you about the specs.
Depending on the operating system (i'll assume you take xp for now).
router pc
Something basic should suffice.
- single 1.6 ghz should be fine.
- 1 gb memory
- dual 1gb nic (possibly a modem card, depends on what your setup)
- single hdd
nothing fancy.

Game pc
- Something in the line of an 2ghz c2d and 2gb memory should be fine.
- i would take 2 separate hard drives (1 for os, 1 for game files). The one with the game files preferably 10.000 rpm or faster. which makes sure you've loaded the game files faster than the guests you have.
- a motherboard with a gbit network or with an added gbit pci nic.
- ram is your choice i'd go for ddr 2 800mhz, 2gb should be fine.

just 2 other things about the pc.
- if you're planning on adding alot of bots which all use AI which in turn uses loads of cpu time you should take a faster processor.
- if you're planning on running more games at the same time i'd upgrade the cpu as well as the memory.

Switch
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122138
this one is very very sturdy. Never had any problems with netgear whatsoever myself

 

[g4m3rof1337]

I realize this is probably my third thread on this, but at the time of posting this, I didn't have time to search and bump an old thread, and edit and add information, so I just made a totally new updated thread.



I'll look into those specs and that switch.

 

[Vipernitrox]

i looked into clarkconnect a bit. but i'm a complete linux noob and for some reason i couldn't login. Anyway it seemed good for the job. After doing some reading i'm pretty much convinced it could do the job for you.
But you will have to learn some things about linux and maybe you'll have some compatibility problems. Since you're lan guests will probably be using windows.

 

[Encryptor]

Hope you've got a fast|reliable Internet Connection with plenty of Bandwidth, as setting up a game server on a standard Broadband connection, you'll be lucky to get 8 players on before you max out your connection. Remember to put your upstream and downstream into consideration when setting up max players

Encryptor
Linux rocks the planet...

 

[/\E]

Hope you've got a fast|reliable Internet Connection with plenty of Bandwidth, as setting up a game server on a standard Broadband connection, you'll be lucky to get 8 players on before you max out your connection. Remember to put your upstream and downstream into consideration when setting up max players

Encryptor
Linux rocks the planet...

Did you read the first post?

Apparently not, it's not over WAN, it's LAN...

 

[g4m3rof1337]

Thanks for the information, I've been wanting to get into Linux, I planned on dual booting Ubuntu and Vista on my laptop.

Also, I have 1 Comcast Interent line and 2 DSL lines for internet.




Thanks.

 

[Cleric7x9]

if you want to bridge all of your internet connections to make one super fast connection, you will need one fancy router, and they are really expensive. to clarify, is this for your LAN parties or will you be hosting internet game servers?

 

[g4m3rof1337]

They're for the LANs, I won't be getting into server hosting online for a while.

And we give the Comcast line to the PC gamers, and one of the DSL lines to the Xbox/Console gamers, and have a backup DSL line, so.





Thanks.

 

[g4m3rof1337]

I should probably get a server capable of hosting a LAN with 75-100 people. And what do you think I should get switch wise? I was thinking gigabit, but if we don't plan on swapping files and stuff, just a LAN, could I get away with 10/100?




Thanks.

 

[Vipernitrox]

100mbit is enough for just hosting games without lag. Just don't get crappy grade switches.

 

[g4m3rof1337]

Any special features? Or just anything name brand?

Also, will two of these work?
Dual Opteron 246 HE 2.0GHz 4GB 120GB 1U Half-Depth Server w/VID LAN


Thanks.

 

[Vipernitrox]

what os are you planning on running?
also that's a server ment for placement in a rack.
if i were you i'd just built a pc yourself in a decent tower.

 

[g4m3rof1337]

I probably plan on using Linux, or possibly Windows, whatever is easier I guess..

 

[tlarkin]

I've said this a thousand times on this forum. Take your old PC and make it the dedicated server. You don't need a bad ass machine to run a dedicated gaming server.

For a router, go find and buy a WRT54GL Linksys and load third party firmware on it, from www.dd-wrt.com. Go to the site for instructions and how to and a compatible hardware list.

done

Gigabit switches aren't going to be cheap, expect to pay around 300 for that.

 

[g4m3rof1337]

I've said this a thousand times on this forum. Take your old PC and make it the dedicated server. You don't need a bad ass machine to run a dedicated gaming server.

For a router, go find and buy a WRT54GL Linksys and load third party firmware on it, from www.dd-wrt.com. Go to the site for instructions and how to and a compatible hardware list.

done

Gigabit switches aren't going to be cheap, expect to pay around 300 for that.

So an old PC would be capable of maintaining an event filled with around 100 people?

I know gig switches are expensive, which is why I'll probably be fine with 10/100 switches.

 

[tlarkin]

what game hosts 100 players on one server?

 

[Geoff]

Any special features? Or just anything name brand?

Also, will two of these work?
Dual Opteron 246 HE 2.0GHz 4GB 120GB 1U Half-Depth Server w/VID LAN


Thanks.

Do you have a server rack?

 

[g4m3rof1337]

what game hosts 100 players on one server?

So an old PC would be capable of maintaining an event filled with around 100 people?

I don't know, I'll let you know when I find one though, just because 100 people are in a room, doesn't mean we're going to be on the same server at once.

Do you have a server rack?

No, but I'm considering obtaining one, since the servers I have in mind are rackmounts.

 

[Geoff]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it seems like you've been talking about setting up servers and such for a LAN center that you will be running for years, but has anything even come of it?